The invention relates to a respiration bag having at least one connection stub.
The artificial respiration of a patient ensures the adequate supply of oxygen and carbon dioxide discharge, for example, in connection with measures for resuscitation or for administering an anesthesia. One possibility of the artificial respiration is the use of a respiration bag. A respiration bag is disclosed in U.S. Patent 5,647,354. The respiration bag can be inflated or can fill because of its own reset forces and be pressed together in order to carry out the artificial respiration. The air reaches the patient via pressure applied with the hand on the resuscitation bag and via a respiration valve. Either a mask or a tube is selectively connected downstream of the respiration valve.
The known respiration bag includes a stub with which the respiration bag can be connected to an oxygen feed line. The respiration bag can be manually operated and belongs, for example, to the equipment of ambulances and operating rooms.
A varying volume is required in dependence upon whether the respiration bag functions for respiration with ambient air or with oxygen. For adults, the application of a smaller volume is required with the simultaneous supply of oxygen than is used for the respiration with ambient air. This requirement is based on recent investigations which were carried out by the AHA (American Heart Association) and the ERC (European Resuscitation Council).
The requirement for two different volumes, which are to be applied, is satisfied with the known respiration bags in that two types of respiration bags of different sizes are used. If there is a transfer from a respiration with ambient air to a respiration with ambient air supplemented with oxygen or, vice versa, then the procedure is made difficult in that the respiration bag must be exchanged for a respiration bag of a different size. For this reason, two types of respiration bags of different sizes must always be available for use.
It is an object of the invention to provide a respiration bag which is so improved that the application of different volumes for the respiration of a patient is possible with this bag.
The respiration bag of the invention has at least one connecting stub and includes: a bag-shaped hollow body defining an axis; at least one fold region extending annularly over the body; the bag-shaped body being foldable in the direction of the axis from a first stable position wherein the hollow body extends smoothly over the fold region to a second stable position wherein the bag-shaped body is bent inwardly in the direction of the axis at the fold region to define an annular fold in the fold region.
The respiration bag according to the invention includes at least one fold which extends annularly over the bag. The respiration bag including the at least one fold is, for example, made of elastomer, silicon or Neoprene and is stable as to form. The at least one fold can be set off from the remainder of the bag utilizing color or also a different texture of the material surface. With respect to the surface of the material of the bag, this can be, for example, smooth at the fold and be roughened over the remainder of the bag or be roughened at the fold and otherwise smooth. The material of the respiration bag in the region of the at least one fold can be exactly as thick as at remaining locations thereof or can also be thinner than the material outside the fold region. The respiration bag can be a disposable item or can be reusable. With the one fold or with each fold it is possible that the respiration bag assumes two different positions I and II with respect to this fold. In position I, the respiration bag extends smoothly over the particular fold and assumes its maximum volume, preferably in a size of between 1600 and 1800 milliliters. Such a volume is usual for the respiration of an adult with ambient air. In the position II, the respiration bag is bent in along the particular fold. A depression arises in the form of trough or basin which is annularly delimited by the bent-over fold. With this depression, the volume of the respiration bag is reduced, for example, to 1400 milliliters. This is the usual volume for the respiration of an adult with oxygen-enriched air.
A respiration bag, which can assume at least two different volumes, has the advantage that one can rapidly and simply provide the appropriate volume depending upon whether respiration is with ambient air or oxygen-enriched air. Compared to adults, a lesser volume for the respiration for ambient air as well as with oxygen-enriched air must be made available for children. The respiration of children can take place in this way with the same respiration bag which is also used for adults. As described above, the at least one fold on the respiration bag makes possible a position I with a maximum volume and a position II with a reduced volume. Especially the position II can be fixed with an advantageous configuration of the respiration bag of the invention.
In an advantageous embodiment, a sealing lip is provided along the fold on the inner wall surface of the respiration bag. This sealing lip runs essentially parallel to the inner wall of the respiration bag and has a free end which projects in the direction of that section of the respiration bag viewed from the fold which remains unchanged in positions I and II and is not bent in the form of a depression. When the respiration bag goes from position I with maximum volume to the volume-reduced position II, then the sealing lip at the affected fold, which is being bent over, moves toward and against the inner wall surface of the respiration bag. An unintended flip over of the respiration bag from position II into position I is thereby countered so that the inner pressure, which is present in the respiration bag and which can amount to up to 45 millibar, acts on the sealing lip positioned forward of the bent-over fold in lieu of against the bent-over fold itself. The stability of the respiration bag in the volume-reduced position II is ensured up to an inner pressure of 45 to 50 millibar. Only a powerful pull of the hand can bring the respiration bag from position II into position I.
In the second advantageous embodiment of the invention, the respiration bag can be fixed in the volume-reduced position II additionally by mechanical holders, for example, clamps which are distributed uniformly over the annularly-shaped bent-over fold. The clamps can be made of plastic or metal.
Two folds of the kind described above are provided in an additional embodiment of the respiration bag according to the invention which can have the shape of an ellipsoid. The two folds can, for example, extend parallelly to each other and lie on the axis of the largest longitudinal extension of the ellipsoid at different spacings from the two end points of the ellipsoid. Accordingly, there are four positions with four different volumes of the respiration bag which can be realized depending upon whether the bag is bent over at both folds, on a first one of the two folds, a second one of the two folds or at none of the folds.